Oil brand preferences?
 

My 94 V6 XLE runs like a brand new Lexus, even with 258k on the odometer. It's always had conventional motor oil in it to my knowledge. Doesn't leak a drop of.

I would like to preserve this engine as long as possible.

I have usually bought house brand O'Reilly's oil for my vehicles. I've heard some negative things about Pennzoil and positive things about Castrol and Valvoline, but is any of that legitimate? I've considered switching it (and boyfriend's 99 Accord 4 cyl with 140k) to synthetic to help reduce engine wear, but have heard some horror stories about switching to synthetic oil at high mileage.

What brand motor oil do you use in your Camry? Why so? Any opinions feedback are appreciated.

The issue of switching to synthetic have been discussed at length. All oil companies state there is no problem switching back and forth at any time. Some individuals state synthetics will cause any debris in the oil seals to be flushed out, debris that may be keeping the seal from leaking oil. Still others state if the engine leaks already, synthetic will make things worse. I don't know which stories are true or false.

I use any of the major brand of mineral oil, typically what is on sale. In the past, using mineral oil has worked fine and engines have gone over 300K.

Not opposed to using a house brand and will use this if short on oil as it is kept around for other vehicles.

All oil has the SAE specs it meets on the container. Make sure the oil you buy meets the latest specs.

Autoparts chains and department stores contract to someone to supply the oil and can specific how its made. If you dig around the internet you may be able to find out who supplies O'Reilly. Research past posts at www.bobistheoilguy.com and do a Google search.

Would not have a problem using Pennzoil but it's more expensive, at least around here.

Synthetics offer better cold start lubrication (cold temps) and can stand up to higher operating temps, etc.

I might switch if the vehicle were used for lots of short drives, cold starts, extreme driving conditions such as pulling a trailer, lots of stop and go driving, etc. But for everyday driving where the engine is able to heat up and run for at least a half hour, minimal stop and go, etc. Conventional oil seems good enough.

If buying a new car, low mileage car, installing a rebuilt engine, etc then would most likely use synthetic.

There are blends of synthetic and mineral oil, might try one of these.

If you do change oil types (synthetic), suggest keeping the same oil change period. Synthetics are supposed to now last 10K or more between changes. This could be true, don't know. Oil is cheap enough I will continue to change it and let the other guy do the testing on their engine as to how long it will last.

Might read past posts at sites like Toyotanation where these issue has been discussed in depth.

Thanks for the tips! I'll probably switch the Accord to synthetic for sure. It mostly does a five mile commute. I'll do a little more research for the Camry since it's so high mileage and the driving conditions are more variable.

Thanks again

2nd post here - https://www.camryforums.com/forum/ge...nthetic-38200/ - discusses experience of switching a Honda Accord to synthetic oil.

Thanks for the link to bobistheoilguy.com. Gold mine. I'm nerding out so hard.